“It is clear, from these considerations, that the three methods of classifying mankind-that according to physical characters, according to language, and according to culture-all reflect the historical development of races from different standpoints; and that the results of the three classifications are not comparable, because the historical facts do not affect the three classes of phenomena equally. A consideration of all these classes of facts is needed when we endeavour to reconstruct the early history of the races of mankind.”
Quote by Franz Boas
Author
Franz Boas
Franz Boas (July 9, 1858 - December 21, 1942) was a German-born American anthropologist considered one of the founders of modern anthropology. Known for his fieldwork and cross-cultural comparative studies, Boas had a profound impact on the development of cultural relativism and structuralist anthropology. more
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